The Tennessee Titans will look to make it seven wins in a row when they host AFC South foe Houston on Sunday.

For reasons I can’t explain, the hate and doubt from the media persists. The 2021 Tennessee Titans are “not a real 8-2 team” according to Keyshawn Johnson.

If you, like me, have never heard this statement uttered before about any sports team ever, welcome to the party!

Lines to know

Tennessee Titans (-10 & -462 ML) vs. Houston Texans (o/u 44.5)

The doubt and pure delusion that the national media has in its heads regarding the Titans still blows my mind. It has gotten so out of hand, in fact, that many are picking the Titans to not cover the spread, and maybe even lose this game!

But looking at the line and the trajectory of these two teams, I would say it is more than safe to say the Titans should comfortably win this.

For personal reasons, I tend to avoid predicting a Titans’ win, but I can’t help but do it here. That’s how confident I am. If the offense plays mediocre (or slightly below mediocre) like they have in the two weeks without Derrick Henry, they can put up enough points to win.

It is the Tennessee defense that is, again, going to be the deciding factor.

Here are a few betting trends to keep an eye on in this game:

– The Titans are 5-1 ATS (against the spread) in the last 6.

– The total has gone UNDER in 6 of the Texans’ last 7 road games.

– The total has gone OVER in 4 of the last 5 meetings between these two teams.

Juicy prop bets to watch

Marcus Johnson o/u 34.5 receiving yards

Marcus Johnson had more catches and more yards in the win over the Saints last week than he has had the rest of the season!

Without Julio Jones, Johnson notched five catches for 100 yards. In the 9 other games this season, he has four catches for 60 yards.

Was this his pseudo “breakout” game? I sure hope so! Without Julio, Tennessee needs a reliable pass catcher and receiver to create space for A.J. Brown and/or open up the run game.

Hopefully, Johnson will get more touches this week and be used in the slot against a terrible Houston offense.

Prediction: Over 34.5 yards

Longest Titans completion o/u 35.5 yards

The Titans’ offense has dramatically slowed in the last two games, but they have won both and scored over 20 in both.

Still, the absence of Derrick Henry can be felt in the team’s strategy and play calling. Even without Henry threatening in the backfield, the offense has an uncanny ability to break off huge plays.

Last week against New Orleans, the Titans had two plays go for 36 yards or more. D’Onta Foreman took a screen pass 39 yards in the second half, and Johnson had a catch and run of 50.

Against this defense especially, expect to see it again.

Prediction: Over 35.5 yards

Titan Up!

The United States men’s national team is over halfway through CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying, but they continue to struggle when playing outside the U.S. But why?

Four road games, one win.

The United States has had some poor results outside the country, with a loss to Panama, drawing with Jamaica and El Salvador, and beating Honduras after struggling to create anything in the first half.

The U.S. is a far better team than they were four years ago when they missed the World Cup in Russia, but this team is still not up to the quality many fans expect with the plethora of young talent available to manager Gregg Berhalter.

Why does the USMNT struggle on the road?

I get why there is hate for Berhalter, but I don’t think the issues on the road are solely his fault. As the boss, he can only do so much to prepare his team and organize the formation/tactics.

I think the real problem is the inexperience of the players on the field.

This qualifying year, the U.S. has fielded his youngest and second youngest squad in the country’s history! Add in injuries, suspensions, and lineup changes, and the reasoning makes plenty of sense.

The countries that play in CONCACAF might be nothing like the squads that play in UEFA, but the difficult environments, travel, and poorly kept grounds make each and every game difficult.

We would love to win every game in qualifying to go ahead and for sure make it to the World Cup, but there is no need to panic after a 1-1 draw with Jamaica.

Coming off of an emotional and difficult win against Mexico late last week, it was always going to be difficult to win on the road against a desperate squad in Jamaica.

But, looking at the upside, the U.S. has outplayed the entire match, and still managed a point!

Traveling to play both Canada and Mexico in two of the remaining qualifying games will be difficult, of course, but if the U.S. can earn a point on the road (or even sneak a win) and hold their own at home, Qatar is well within reach.

The Warriors are back! Golden State has taken the league by storm, by returning to their old selves. They lead the league with a 12-2 record and of course Stephen Curry may be the league’s MVP yet again.

Yes, the Warriors won back to back championships in 2017 & 2018, but that was with Kevin Durant.

This year’s Warriors reminds us of their 2015 title run. Their 2015 title run which was one like no other. The “Splash Brothers” were created with Curry & Klay, with Draymond as their third option. Thus, the “Big Three” emerged.

This year, Curry is unstoppable averaging 28.7 ppg, 6.6 ast and shooting 40% from 3-point range. He currently leads the league in scoring.

The scariest part of the Warriors this season is Klay Thompson has yet to play a game. His timetable for return is still questionable after tearing his ACL back in 2019.”I’ve always thought the Warriors were good for the league overall,” a Western conference executive said. “They play a fun style, they push boundaries and raise the competitive level for everyone, especially with them being more their 2016 version.”

Not only is Curry doing his part as the leader of the team, but the Warriors’ bench is averaging 37.3 points per game taking a lot of pressure off Curry. The bench is currently fifth in the league in scoring.

With only 14 games played so far, the Warriors are still the heavy favorites to win it all.

The Los Angeles Angels are making an early splash in the MLB offseason, making a move for right-handed pitcher Noah Syndergaard.

After pitching just two innings in 2021, the New York Mets approached Syndergaard with a qualifying offer before he hit the free-agent market, and the two parties could not reach an agreement.

The Mets offered the prolific a one-year, $18.4 million deal, but the Angels swooped in with over $2 million more.

It is a risk to sign a guy who has not pitched in some time and is coming off of Tommy John surgery, but the thought of pairing Syndergaard with Shohei Ohtani is pretty exciting.

Mike Trout tweeted his approval after hearing of the deal and it’s a sign that the Angels are ready to step out of the mediocrity that has plagued them.

With the Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and a healthy Syndergaard, are the Angels building a competitive team now?

The Red Raider Radio Network play-by-play commentator and color commentator have been suspended for being overly critical of Big 12 officials over the weekend.

lay-by-play man Brian Jensen and analyst John Harris were apparently supposed to remain neutral and not voice their displeasure with the officials during Texas Tech’s home game with Iowa State over the weekend.

Though the Red Raiders would eventually win on a 62-yard field goal, both Jensen and Harris have been suspended from broadcasting the team’s next game against Oklahoma State.

There were several – and I don’t mean just a couple – terrible calls that went against Tech, and after a pretty clear interception was ruled incomplete, Harris, and then Jensen, made their feelings about the decision abundantly clear.

The play they are criticizing came when Tech appeared to make an interception inside its own 10-yard line in the fourth quarter. The call on the field was an interception, however, the review team deemed that the Tech player did not secure the ball and ruled the play incomplete.

I have to agree with the Red Raider Radio Network, how is there clear and obvious evidence that the ball hit the ground and the call on the field was incorrect?

This play led to four unsportsmanlike penalties on the hosts, and fans in Lubbock began littering the field with trash, leading to the ejection of two of the student sections in the lower bowl.

Another play – a fumble that clearly was not one – was ruled against Tech and gave Iowa State the ball. The photos of the play sure are damning!

The gripe from both Brian Jensen and his color commentator, John Harris, is in my eyes’, justified. The Big 12 commissioner, Bob Bowlsby, ruled the two suspended for the next game for not “adhering to Conference policy.”

Here is Bowlsby’s full statement on the situation:

“I understand the roles of the play-by-play and color analyst. However, as University representatives they also have an obligation to adhere to Conference policy regarding comments about game officials. The comments by the Red Raider Radio Network booth announcers were contrary to expected levels of respect and professionalism. Questioning the integrity of Conference officials and specifically calling out members of the officiating crew is well beyond appropriate and permissible behavior.”

Are local broadcasters supposed to remain neutral? Because if they are, that’s news to me! When you listen to, for example, the Texas Tech radio broadcast, isn’t it expected to be biased towards that team/school?

I will say, Jensen took it a bit far (so did Harris) but I can’t sit here and pretend like I wouldn’t have said some of those same things were I in that situation.

From a neutral’s perspective, yeah, it seemed at times the game was rigged in favor of Iowa State. And yes, there were some TERRIBLE calls against Tech.

But hey, at least they won the game!

What do you think of the Big 12’s decision to suspend the commentators for a game?